A Message from the Founders

Skip Lipman and Jason Karas

We were unexpected roommates, sharing a modest Sydney apartment in the winter of 2002. The Australian Government had retained us as part of a national team of legal and forensic specialists to work on the Royal Commission into the collapse of global insurer HIH. In the main, it was a dream brief. Yet long days absorbed with investigating the causes of this major failure and its ramifications would sometimes end with musing about a more inspiring environment to practise our vocation in the years ahead.

The idea of creating a specialist firm developed over time, although initially it seemed like little more than a utopian concept. The core idea was to create a highly focussed investigative litigation practice with a team of like-minded professionals, working collaboratively across the organisation to provide premium service to a select group of clients. We would focus on our role as trusted litigation counsel, undistracted by bottom line projections, self-promotion or the politics and other disruptions that pervade many firms.

Our clients would be assured of the highest professional standards and performance, value for money, a progressive and innovative mindset and the prioritisation of their interests. Our methodology would be tailored to them and their project and pursued with extraordinary tenacity. This approach would maximise our clients’ prospects of success.

Lipman Karas opened its doors in Adelaide on 1 September 2004 with a team of 11 lawyers. Our mission was and remains straightforward – dedication to the single-minded pursuit and advancement of our clients’ interests.

We have not once looked back. LK opened offices in Hong Kong in 2009 and London in 2012 and has grown to a team of over 80 focussed professionals. The firm is recognised as an international force in our specialist field. We have resolved or litigated cases in every continent and led successful appeals in some of the highest courts internationally.

More than a decade on, we remain true to our mission and dedicated to surpassing our achievements to date.